By Sarah Klein
The Manitoba government is cracking down on the number of citizens with outstanding arrest warrants for serious crimes.
Individuals who are applying for or already receiving income assistance will now be required to deal with outstanding warrants to prevent their benefits from being discontinued, reduced or denied, the NDP said on Friday.
“This is an important part of an overall government strategy to address the issue of outstanding warrants,” said Justice Minister Andrew Swan. “It complements the work of the Manitoba Integrated Warrant Apprehension Unit that is out there every day tracking down individuals with outstanding warrants.”
To ensure incident family members aren’t affected by having benefits reduced, provisions are in place for households with two or more people. Basic benefits for things like rent, utilities and health care can be reinstated once a person confirms they have dealt with the outstanding warrant issue.
